NATIONAL SCALE MULTI-HAZARD MODEL PLATFORM FOR EXTREME CYCLONE IMPACTS ON COASTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Abstract

Extreme event impacts on coastlines and infrastructure is often driven by a combination of processes and factors. In cyclone (hurricane) prone coastlines, wind, rain, storm surge, tide and waves can all contribute to damage and loss of infrastructure. With increasing value of coastal assets, hazard and risk management is increasingly assessing multi-hazard impacts from extreme events, and cumulative damage from multiple events within short time frames. A novel multi-hazard model system has been developed to assess cyclone hazards on the Australian coastline from a combination of wind, rain, tide, storm surge and wave impacts. The model system is capable of deriving return period hazard levels for single and combined hazards, and also long-duration, for example 10,000 year duration, event sets to analyze cumulative impacts. The hazard model system is comprised of high-resolution, calibrated process models addressing the various physical processes that contribute to the overall hazard.